fisher



D. T. FISHER.

COAL MINING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION man AUG.28,1914.

) MJT/Z5@ D. T. FISHEHQ COAL MNING APPARATUS.

' APPLICATION FILED Aue.28. I9I'4.' 1,321,427, Patented Nov. 11, 1919.

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D. T. FISHER.

coAL MINING APPARATUS.

APPLICAT |0N FILED AUG.28V. P914. Patented NOV' 11,

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UNITED STATES PATENT oEEioE.

DUDLEY T. FISHER, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE JEFFREY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

COAL-MININ Gr APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented NOV., 11, 1919.

Application led August 28, ,1914. Serial No. 859,077.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, DUDLEY T. FISHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coal-Mining Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for mining coal and loading it for transportation from the mine.

The principal object is to provide a machine having means for forming a plurality of parallel vertical kerfs in the face of the coal, means for breaking down the coal between these kerfs and means for gathering the said vcoal and loading it into conveniently placed cars adapted to transport it from the mine. Machines embodying my invention are capable of wide variation and may be adapted to use with any of the welll known systems of mining, such. as the long wall system, or the room and pillar system, or modifications of them, and it isA not the `intention that any thing herein contained shall limit use of the machines.

The preferred construction, adapted to work in a room having a semicircular working face, is fully described in the following specification and illustrated in the accom-v panying drawings of whichiFigure 1 is a general plan view of the machine. i

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in crosssection of the machine shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the mining elements of the machine.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the cutting mechanism and the therefor.

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the breaking down mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a. side elevation of the breaking down mechanism.

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a Section on the line 8 8 of Fig. 2.

IFig. 9 is a fragmentary plan view showing the driving connections of the loading conveyer and of the feed mechanism.

VIn the embodiment of my invention herein disclosed are three elements, the cutting mechanism, the breaking down mechanism driving connectionsk ter head of the well known chain type in f which a cutter chain 1, having renewable bits 2 adapted to cut the coal, travels in suitable guides formed on the edges of a cutter frame 3. The frame 3 is mounted for limited .oscillation in a vertical plane about lthe head shaft 4to form vertical kerfs in the face of the coal. The cutter frame 3 is supported on journal bearings 5 rotatable on the shaft 4 on either side of the head sprocket wheel 6 by which the chain 1 is driven. Power is derived from the motor 9 through the head shaft 4 and the bevel gears 7 and 8. The head shaft 4 is supported, preferably at a low elevation in Journal bearings 10, 11 and 12 from the base plate 13, which is adapted to slideover the floorl of thev mine .and which supports themotor 9 and other parts of the mechanism as will hereinafter aprpear. Attached to the cutter frame 3 are upward extending arms -14 connected at their upper ends to a lifting screw 15 by a pivot pin 16. The lifting screw 15 is slidable in the bearings i17 and 18 of the yoke 19 supported by bearings 20 upon the shaft 21. This Shaft is iournaled in bearings 22 carried by the brackets 23 and 24 upstanding from the base plate 13. Screw threaded to the lifting screw 15 is a nut 25, positioned between the bearings 17 and 18, and having, formed on its periphery, spiral gear teeth to engage the spiral gear 26 upon the shaft 21. The shaft 21 is driven by the bevel gear 27 meshing with a Similar gear 27a attached to the upper end of the vertical shaft 28. This shaft is ,iournaled at its upper end in a bearing 29 of the bracket 23, and at its lower end in the step bearing 30 of the floor plate 13. Mounted for free rotation upon the vertical shaft 28 are two bevel gears 31 and 32 both meshing with the bevel gear 33 carried by the head shaft 4. Splined to the vertical shaft 28, between the bevel gears 31 and 32,

member 34 either upward or downward the operator may cause the nut 25 to revolve Vin either direction to raise or lower the cutgine or some one of the many forms of electric motor. 1n the construction disclosed herein 1 have provided a mechanism operated from the motor 9, but as its details form no part of the present invention 1 do not intend to limit myself to the construction shown. I

The head shaft 4 extends through the bearing 12 and carries On its eind a bevel gear 35 meshing with a similar gear 36 carried by the vertical shaft 37 journaled at its upper end inthe bearing 38 of the bracket 39, and at its lower end in the step bearing 40 formed on the floor plate 13. Journaled upon the outer surface of thel bearings 38 and 40 is a yoke 41 having a foot 42, adapted to slide on'the floor plate 13, and a bearing 43 in which is journaled a horizontal shaft 44. Mounted for rotation upon the outside of the bearing 43 uis a member 45 having a bearing 46 in which is journaled a shaft 47 atright 4angles to the shaft 44. Journaled upon the outside of the bearing 46 is a member 48 having a bearing 49 in which is journaled a crank shaft 50 at right angles to the shaft 47 The bevel gears 36, 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55 attached to the shafts 37, 44,' 47 and 50 form a train todrive the crankshaft 50 from the head shaft 4. Journaled upon the outside of the bearing 49 is a yoke 56 having extending arms 57 and 58 at the ends of which are guide blocks 59 and 60 in which slide the rods 61 of the pick frame. Fixed to the rear end o f the rods 61 is a cross member 62 having a wrist pin 63 connected by the connecting rod 64 with the crank 65 attached to the crank shaft 50. Fixed to the rods 6l forward ofthe slide block 60 is a cross member 66 havingl an aperture 67 through which the pick tool 68 is slidable. A nut 69 attached to the pick tool 68v prevents its slipping forward out of the aperture 67. Fixed to the pick tool 68 is a cross member 70 slidlable on the rods 6l. A coil spring 71 is interposed between the cross members 66 and 70 to drive the pick tool against the coal as the pick frame reciprocates, and to cushion the machine against destructive shocks when the picks strike the coal. A handle 72 attached to the yoke 56 affords convenient means of directing the pick against Aany desired pointof the coal face vand the axis of shaft 47 and for vertical movement ITooth about the axis of shaft 44 and the axis of shaft 47, it is possible to direct the stroke of the tool in any direction and .to attack either the front faces or the lateral faces of the coal most ed'ectively.

The machine is provided with a pivoting device by which it is limited to movement in a circular path. This pivoting device comprises a pivot post 73 securely held in position on the center line of the mine working. To the post is connected for pivotal movement a radius frame 74 rigidly fastened to the floor plate 13 of the mining machine. Resting on the rails 75 of the mine track are wheels 76 supporting the truck platform 77 from which rises the pivot post 73, the upper partI of which is screw threaded to coperate with the hand wheel nut 78. The nut engages the cap 79 to force the latter into contact with the roof of the mine, thereby holding the post 73 against lateral displacement. Brake shoes 80 are suspended from the truck platform 77 by links 81 and are forced in contact with the wheels 76 by the ,double acting hand wheel nut 82 screw threaded to the struts 83. Movement along the rails is thereby resisted.

The radius frame 74 is composed of angle bars 84 connected together by'suitable cross members to form a rigid structure. At their inner ends the angle bars 84 are attached to a casting 85 bolted to the floor plate 13, and at their outer ends to a casting 86 on which is formed a sleeve 87 journaled upon the post 73 and vertically supported by a shoulder 89 thereof. The angle bars 84 are arranged to form guides for the endless chain 90 of the gathering conveyer. The chain 90 carries laterally projecting Scrapers 91 which travel along the trough 92 to pro pel the coal therethrough. vThe bottom plate of the trough 92 is bent upward and outward to form flaring sides 93 to confine the 4 coal to the conveyer while in transit. At the outcr end of the conveyer the chain 90 runs over a sprocket wheel 93 journaled on the outer surface of the sleeve 87, concentric with the post 73. The sprocket wheel 93 isv concentrically attached to the bevel gear wheel 94 which meshes with the bevel pinion 95 carried bythe longitudinal shaft 96. The shaft is driven through the spur gear 97 and the pinion 98 from the motor 99 mounted upon the strut frame. The shaft 96 is jo'urnaled at its outer end in a bearing 100 formed on the casting 86 and at its inner end in a bearing 101 attached to the frame of the motor.' At the inner end of the conveyer the chain 90 runs over a sprocket the foot casting 104. The casting is secured to the floor plate 13 by suitable bolts 105. The holes through the casting 104 for the passage of the bolts 105 are slotted to admit of longitudinal adjustment to regulate the tension of the chain 90. Means for such adjustment is provided in the adjusting screw 106 which is threaded into the foot casting 104 and bears at its other end in an aperture of the casting 85. A closed conduit 107 is provided along the rear side of the strut frame for the return strand of the chain and flights to protect the operator from accidental contact therewith. lThe foot casting 104 is so positioned with reference to the other parts of the machine that the scraper 91 will reach the extreme inner edge of the floor plate 13 to gather any coal which may fall thereon.

The loading conveyer is of the Well known metallic apron type, comprising two similar endless chains 108 traveling over sprocket wheels 109 mounted upon the transverse idle head shaft 110 and over other sprocket wheels 111 keyed to the transverse foot shaft 112, and connected together at every link by transverse overlapping plates or flights 113 so formed at their edges as to allow free movement around the sprocket wheels and maintain suiciently close articulation to prevent material from falling between adjacent flights. The chains are of the well known roller type, each link having a roller adapted to travel over suitable trackage surfaces to carry the weight of the chain and flights and of the material carried thereby.

The supporting frame work upon which this apron is mounted consists of longitudinal angle bars 114 and 115 upon which the chain rollers travel, connected together by suitable transverse angle bars 116 and by substantially perpendicular angle bars 117 and 118. The angle bars 118 are secured to the truck platform 77 in any preferred manner, such as bolts or rivets. Suitable side plates 119 are attached to the frame angles to confine the coal to the conveyer, and these plates are extended at the inner end to form a hopper 120 to receive the coal "as it is discharged from the gatherin conveyer. The head shaft 110 is journa ed in take up journal boxes 121 supported on plates 122 'attached to'the longitudinal an- 'gle bars, to regulate the tension of the chains 108 by means of the screws 123 in the manner common to such journal boxes. The foot shaft 112 is journaled in pillow blocks 124 attached to the truck platform 77. Mounted for rotation upon the foot shaft 112 is a spur gear 125 connectible thereto by a jaw clutch 126 operated by the lever 1262*. The gear 125 is driven throughthe pinion 127, the shaft 128, the gear 129 and pinion 130 from the motor 131 to propel the conveyer. The shaft 128 is journaled in bearings 132 of the truck platform 77 and carries a sprocket wheel 133 connected by thechain 134 to the sprocket wheel 135. The sprocket wheel 135 is carried by the feed shaft 136 journaled in bearings 137 and- 138 of the truck platform. Freely mounted on the feed shaft 136 is a feed drum 139 to which is attached a feed rope 140 adapted to be wound thereon. A friction clutch 141 is provided by which the drum 139 may be connected to the shaft 136 to cause it to rotate to wind the rope. Suitable gui'de sheaves 142, 143 and 144 are provided in convenient positions upon the truck platform to guide the rope 140 in directions convenient for handling the machine.

The operation of the machine is as follows. The pivot post .7 3 being set on the center line of the working at a distance from the face equal to the length of the radius frame, less the desireddepth of cut, with the mining elements at the extreme right hand side of the room, the cutter head frame 3 will be elevated. A jack such as is commonly used with mining machines, to which has been attached a snatch block, is set in any convenient position to the left of the machine. The feed rope 140 is drawn out from the drum 139 passed around the snatch block and its end attached'to the hook 146 fixed on the floor plate 13. The feed rope will then be wound up, causing the base plate to slide toward the left, until the cutter head reaches the position desired for the first cut, whereupon the feeding is stopped. The motor 9 is then started and the clutch 34 manipulated to lower the cutter head, cutting a kerf in the face of the coal extending to the floor of the mine. The clutch 34 is then reversed to lift head clear of the kerf, and the rope feed is started to move the machine over to the position for the next cut. As soon as the machine has advanced a sucient distance the pick is brought into action and the coal between the kerfs is broken down to fall onto the floor plate 13 and be gathered by the, flights of the gathering conve-yer and carried through the trough 92 of the hopper 120 of the loading conveyer. The loading conveyer discharges it into the car 147 conveniently placed on the tracks 75 for transport from the mine.

As the coal will readily break along the lines of natural cleavage, the face can be kept substantially vertical allowing sufficient clearance for the cutter head when in its most elevated position, tobe moved along the face without moving the other parts of the machine away from the face. The at tainment of this result is facilitated by the arrangement of the head shaft 4 close to the floor, for this makes it possible for the lswinging cutter arm to cut the kerf at the cutter practically full depth well down to the floor level so that the coal at the lower part of the seam can be eifectively loosenedl by the pick while the coal at the higher levels, where the kerf is not cut so deeply, tends to loosen under its own weight.

When the lcoal has been mined across the entire face, the jack will be set to the right of the machine and the mining elements pulled over to theplace of beginning. The post 73 will then be advanced an amount equal to the desired depth of cut and the operation repeated.

What I claim is: Y

l. In apparatus of the character set forth, the combination of a frame adapted to travel along a coal face, an elongated cutter arm carried by the frame and having one end pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis disposed relatively close to the mine floor, an endless cutter chain mounted to travel around the periphery of the cutter arm, means for swinging the cutter arm upward and downward around the aforesaid axis to cut vertical kerfs in the coal transverse to the face thereof, and an impact breaking device mounted on the frame and arranged to strike the lateral faces formed by the cutting of the aforesaid vertical kerfs.

2. In apparatus of the character set forth, the combination of a frame, means for guiding said frame in a path parallel to an arcuate coal face, an elongated cutter arm carried by the frame and having one end pivotally mounted ona horizontal axis disposed relatively close to the mine floor, an endless cutter chain mounted to travel around the periphery of the cutter arm, means for swinging the cutter arm upward and downward around the aforesaid aXis'to c ut vertical kerfs in the coal transverse to the face thereof, and an impact breaking device mounted on the frame and arranged to strike the lateral faces formed by the vcutting of the aforesaid vertical kerfs.

3. In apparatus of the character set forth,

the combination of a frame, means for guiding said frame in a path parallel to an arcuate coal face, an elongated cutter arm carried by the frame and having one end pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis disposed relatively close to the ioor of the mine, an endless cutter chain mountedto travel around the periphery of the cutter arm, means for swinging the cutter arm upward and downward around the aforesaid aXis to cut vertical kerfs inthe coal transverse tof the face thereof, and animpact breaker carried b y the frame and adapted to move independently of the vertical kerf cutting devices and to strike` the lateral faces formed by the cutting of the aforesaid vertical kerfs.

4. In apparatus of the character set forth, the combination of a frame adapted naam-ar tacking either the front face of the coal be-` tween the vertical kerfs or the lateral faces formed by said kerfs, and to move vertically for the purpose of eectively reaching both the upper and lower parts of the coal.

5. The combination in a coal cutting and breaking-down machine, of a main frame adapted to be moved parallel with a coal face, a kerf cutter mounted on said frame for cutting kerfs in the coal at an. angle to the front face thereof in di'erent places along the face of the coal according to the position of the machine, a reciprocable breaking down devicemounted on said main frame and adjustable and operable independent of the kerf cutter, a bearing adjustable on said frame and having means for guiding the sliding of said breaking` down device, mechanism lfor actuating the latter, and a conveyer on the frame for engaiging and removing the broken-down coal.

6. The combination in a coal cutting and breaking-down machine, of a main frame adapted to be moved parallel 'with a coal face, a kerf -cutter mounted on said frame for cutting kerfs in the coal at an angle to the front face thereof in different places along the face of the coal according to the position of theL machine, a reciprocable breaking down device mounted on said main. frame and adjustable and operable independent of the kerf cutter, a bearing for supporting and guiding the breaking-down device, said bearing being adjustable on said frame to shift the axis of the breakingdown device in vertical and in horizontal planes, andv mechanism for actuating the breaking-down device.

7. In apparatus of the character set forth, the combination of a `frame adapted to travel along a coal face, cutter mechanism mounted on said frame and adapted to cut vertical kerfs in the coal transverse to the face thereof, a reciprocable coal breaking device mounted on the frame, and means for adjusting said breaking device horizontally and vertically for the purpose of attacking the front or side faces of the coal, at different heights as may be required, and

mechanism for actuatingv said breaking deand operable independent of the kerf cutter, a bearing adjustable on said frame and having means for guiding the sliding of said breaking-down device, mechanism for actuatingthe latter', and a conveyer on the frame for engaging and removing the brokendown coal.

9. The combination in a coal cutting and r breaking down machine, of a main frame 10. The combination in a coal cutting and breaking down machine, of a main frame adapted to be moved parallel to a coal face, a kerf cutter mounted on said frame for cutting kerfs in the coal at an angle to the direction of movement of said frame in different places along the face of the coal according to the position of the machine, a reciprocable breaking down device mounted on a universal pivotal support, and a support for said pivotal support adjustable on said main frame to shift said breaking down device relative to said kerf cutter.

In testimony whereof, I aiiX my signature, in presence of tWo Witnesses.

DUDLEY T. FISHER.

Witnesses:

P. J. HENRY, A. M. READ. 

